Odd Squad-Scooby Doo Crossover
by Flying Saucers
Summary: When Oscar inherits a haunted mansion, he calls his friends in Odd Squad and the Scooby Gang to investigate. Can they unravel the mystery?
1. Chapter 1

"Are you _sure_ this is the right road?"

The blue and green van rattled along the unpaved gravel lane winding through the dark, forbidding forest. The blond young man at the wheel narrowed his eyes at being asked that question for the fifteenth time in seven minutes.

"Look," Fred sighed. "The address is 770 Peachtree Road. And the sign back there said Peachtree Road."

"Yeah," the scruffy young man in the back seat of the van swallowed nervously as he looked out at the twisted, dead trees on either side of them. "But those sure don't look like peach trees to me!" Shaggy giggled nervously. "More like the pits!"

The large dog next to him shuddered. "Reah! The rits!"

"I'm with Shag," the pretty redhead shivered. "This place gives me the creeps!" Daphne looked over at the girl in the turtleneck and the glasses. "Velma? Are you sure your friend gave you the right address?"

"I had him spell it out, just to be sure. Maybe we made a wrong turn or something..."

"Hey, look!" Fred peered through the windshield. "There's someone up ahead! Maybe we can get some directions."

They slowed and stopped next to the large white truck pulled over to the side of the road.

Velma adjusted her glasses. "Looks like an ice cream truck!"

Daphne tilted her head. "What would an ice cream truck be doing all the way out here?"

Like, WHO CARES?" Scooby and Shaggy bounded out of the van. "This is the best news I've had all day! C'mon Scoob, let's get our hands on some of those frozen goodies!"

"Reah! Roodies!"

The others followed them over to the truck, which seemed abandoned.

"Hello?" Fred knocked on the closed vendor's window. "It looks like there's nobody home."

"No rice ream?" The dog started sobbing.

Suddenly, there was a butterfly net over his head.

"GOTCHA!" A boy in the blue jumpsuit exulted. "There's one creature caught..."

"Reature?" The dog was decidedly offended.

"Scooby's not a creature!" Shaggy exclaimed. "Like, he's our dog!"

The smaller boy glared at them. "He's your dog."

"Yeah!"

"And he speaks English."

"Yeah!"

"But he's not an odd creature." The boy was dubious. Nevertheless, he removed the net.

"He may be odd, but he's ours," Velma explained. "He'll behave," she petted Scooby. "Won't you, Scoob?"

Scoob sniffed. "Rod reature! Hhhmph!"

"Hey, wait a minute!" Fred exclaimed. "I recognize you now! Aren't you Agent Owen from that PBS kids' show ODD SQUAD?"

"How'd you know my name?" Owen held up the net as if to ward them away. "I am from Odd Squad. And if you try anything, I'll..."

"We're out here looking for a friend of ours," Velma explained. "He works for Odd Squad too. Agent Oscar."

"Oh yeah," Owen smiled and nodded. "He's up in that house at the end of the road."

"There, see?" Fred smirked. "I told you this was the right way!"

"He called me because he said there were some odd creatures running around out here!"

Shaggy's eyes grew big as saucers. "Odd... creatures?" He swallowed hard. "Maybe the right way is the wrong way after all..."

The gang exchanged looks. "What sort of odd creatures?"

Owen leaned back. "Kinda like Komodo dragons. But furrier."

There was a whoosh and Shag and Scooby were gone.

"We'll be in the van if you need us!"

"Reah!"

Fred shook his head. "Have you seen any of these things yourself?"

"Not yet," Owen shrugged. "Me and my driver saw some lights in the woods, so we stopped to investigate." A baby in an Odd Squad uniform crawled out of the darkness over to the van. Owen turned to him. "Find anything, Orson?"

Daphne gasped. "You sent a baby into the woods to hunt Komodo dragons?"

"Hey, he's small. He can hide better." Owen picked up Orson and took him to the ice cream truck. "What's that?" He leaned closer as Orson continued to jabber. "He saw some tracks, but he couldn't figure out where the lights were coming from..."

Unseen by Owen or the Gang, two mimes glared at the van from behind a tree. One motioned for the other to be more careful with the flashlight he was carrying. The other gestured angrily back about the other mime's flashlight.

Meanwhile, the Gang were piling back into the van.

"You're sure you don't want any help?" Fred asked anxiously.

"Nah," Owen clutched his butterfly net. "I can handle it. I'm a professional!"

Fred sighed. "Okay..."

"The house is just a couple more miles. You can't miss it!"

The van took off down the road. From the back of the van came Shaggy's voice.

"I'm beginning to think we should miss this whole trip!"

Scooby whimpered in agreement.

"Look," Velma explained patiently. "Oscar wouldn't have called if he didn't need our help..."

"Why can't he get some of his Odd Squad pals to help him? Like Otto or Olive or Otis or Omar or Oslo or Oregano or anyone except us...?"

A wolf's howl echoed through the forest. Both Shaggy and Scooby were suddenly in the front seat, clinging to Velma for dear life.

"WHAT WAS THAT? WHAT WAS THAT?"

"A Romodo ragon?" Scoob suggested, trembling.

"Will you two calm down?" Velma pushed them away. "Komodo dragons don't howl. It was probably just a dog."

"Yeah," Shag laughed nervously. "It was probably just somebody's dog!"

Scooby considered. "Ridn't round like anyone ri know..."

There was another howl. Shag and Scoob clung tighter as Velma tried to pry them loose.

The van passed Oren and Olaf, who had concealed themselves behind a large rock.

"Will you keep it down?" Oren hissed to his partner. "We've got work to do! Come on..."

They slunk away into the dark. Nearby, a fifteen-foot long fur-covered lizard crawled across the road. Owen was in hot pursuit, waving his butterfly net.

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

#

The house was indeed impossible to miss. A huge, craggy castle that looked like it was carved out of solid black onyx, it squatted in the gloom at the exact end of the gravel road. Enormous, sharp-looking spires jutted at crazy angles from the roof and the windows glowed with a pulsing red light. A broken, twisted metal fence surrounded the boundaries, the gate smashed and fallen away as if something huge and powerful had forced its way through.

Shaggy's voice was almost a whisper. "Ahr-Ahr-Are you _sure..._"

"Do you see any other houses around here?"

"Let's go look for one..."

Velma caught him before he could flee. He whimpered as she dragged him after the others up the front walk.

"Oscar said he inherited the place from his great-uncle or something..."

"Who's his great-uncle?" Shaggy whined. "Frankenstein?"

"Never mind," Fred scowled. "We're here now, so we might as well go in."

There was a flash of light and a whooshing sound from the other side of the van. Olive and Otto stepped around the van.

"Well, here we... are?" Olive stared up at the castle, her shock apparent on her face.

"Oscar's in _there?_"

Otto's jaw dropped. He looked up and saw the giant bats and pterodactyls circling the tallest spire, the bats clockwise, the pterodactyls counter-clockwise. Occasionally, a bat and pterodactyl would collide and explode, the vultures perching beneath swooping in to devour the firey remains.

"Uh... Uh... Uh..."

Then he spotted the gang and his face lit up. "Oh my... You're the Scooby Doo Gang! _You're the Scooby Doo Gang!" _He motioned to his partner, pointing at the Gang. "Olive, it's the Scooby Doo Gang!"

"You're Otto, aren't you?" Fred extended his hand. Otto grabbed it and pumped it manically.

"The Scooby Doo Gang knows my name!" Otto turned to his partner. "Olive, the Scooby Doo Gang..."

"...Knows your name, yes, I heard." She turned to them, mildly exasperated. "You have to forgive my partner. He can get a bit... over-excited..."

Otto was still staring at them worshipfully. "Big fan," he whispered.

"Come on, partner!" Olive grimaced. "We've got to help Oscar!"

"Oscar?" Velma stepped forward. "That's why we're here!"

"He must've called you too!" Fred reasoned.

"Gee, I hope he's all right..." Daphne cringed. "Locked up in this spooky place..."

"Let's get this over with..." Steeling herself, Olive climbed the stairs of the ornate yet dilapidated porch and knocked on the door.

There was a pause.

"Nobody home," Shaggy said cheerfully. "Well, we gave it the old college try, so let's..."

Velma grabbed him and Scooby before they could flee. "It's a big house. Maybe they didn't hear us."

Olive knocked again, louder this time. After a second, they heard a noise, like ancient creaking gears, and the sound of someone or something enormous walking inside the house.

The walking stopped. And the door slowly opened...

To Be Continued...


	2. Chater 2

The door slowly opened.

Something immense and vaguely humanoid moved through the shadows inside.

Fred stepped forward. "Hi, we're here to.."

The figure rolled into the light. It was a robot of some kind, oversized and clunky, with a barrel-like chest, claws at the end of its six tendril arms, and stiff metal legs balanced on tiny wheels. Its head was bullet-shaped and pointed, with a rusty antenna on top. There was a plexiglass faceplate which blinked with a green, flickering light. When the light flashed its brightest, one could see some sort of shriveled, distorted face peering out at them.

"Oh..." Fred took a step backward involuntarily. Shag and Scoob were eager to take a lot of steps backward completely of their own volition, but were too stunned to move. Otto and Olive exchanged looks. Velma and Daphne froze.

Olive tried to force herself to speak. But before she could get the words past her closed throat, they all heard a familiar voice.

"Hey, guys!"

Oscar hurried over, waving. Everyone nearly collapsed with relief. Olive was seriously considering killing him.

"Didn't expect you here so soon, heh heh," he apologized. "C'mon in!" Then, to the robot. "Archon! Go! Go, Archon! Leave!"

The robot slowly turned and left. Oscar shrugged and smiled apologetically.

"My Great-Uncle Rayenyrk built that. Came with the house." Oscar turned to watch it roll away, bunching up the throw rug as it passed the door. "It's kinda old-school. He wired it to a monkey's head, that's what's floating around in there. Sorry it's..." He coughed, not sure what the best word would be. "My great-uncle, he, um..." He sucked his teeth. "Well, he was kinda what you might call eccentric..."

"No kidding," Shaggy muttered. Olive let out a long, pensive sigh.

"I was thinking about maybe throwing a tablecloth over it or something but I'm worried it might catch fire..." He drifted off. "I really gotta clean that tank. It's gotten pretty murky, but, there's a mummified monkey head in there..."

Otto looked from the robot to Oscar and back again. "Your Great-Uncle... Rayenyrk?"

Daphne pondered. "Sounds like a bad anagram."

"Yeah. This used to be his house. He died awhile back and everything was tied up in court and stuff for YEARS, but they finally gave it to my Aunt Wendy, but it's kinda a bit much for just her and Chet and the kids and it's nowhere near the bus lines so they're planning on selling it as soon as we get it fixed up..."

They looked around the room. At the voluminous black velvet curtains decorated with spider-web patterns over the stained glass window depicting a dragon devouring the moon; at the wooden chairs with the weirdly elongated backs and long spikes on the top; at the oaken table with a Ouija board embedded in the center; at the enormous mass of tropical ferns growing out of one corner of the floor; at the assortment of bejeweled samurai swords and daggers; at the wall completely covered with sky-blue Chinese tiles with screaming faces painted on them; at the stuffed and mounted gorilla next to the umbrella stand; the skeletal shark head looming over the overstuffed couch; the lily white grand piano covered with blood-stains; the barred windows; the gilded bird cage containing a miniature human skeleton that hung from the ceiling in the exact center of the room... And this was the _foyer..._

"So, yeah." Oscar made a face. "It's gonna take awhile." He brightened. "It'll be a heck of a yard sale, though..."

"Rayenyrk, Rayenyrk..." Velma was thinking. "Where have I heard that name before...?"

Shaggy recoiled. "You've heard _that name _before?"

"I'm sure I have. I just can't place... Wait a minute..." She snapped her fingers. "I read about him somewhere. Wasn't he The Vampire King?"

_"Wuh-wuh-wampire?"_ Scooby hid under a chair. Then he looked up at the chair and decided to hide elsewhere.

"Of course!" Olive looked at her. "He used to fight Nelvana of the Northern Lights! He was always using mad science or magic to try to take over the world!"

Oscar muttered, "Well, he was more of an alchemist..."

"I heard one time he bred a swarm of giant vampire bats to attack Toronto..." Fred chimed in. "And another time, he had an army of zombies he was going to march on the capitol..."

Otto looked around. "Why haven't I heard about any of this?"

"I don't think it's in continuity," Velma responded. "Then there was the Curse of The Lost Pharaohs... And the dinosaurs he trained to invade Vancouver..."

"Well, I suppose your families are perfect!" Oscar was beet-red, blinking rapidly and trembling. Everyone immediately felt bad.

"It's okay, Oscar," Daphne consoled him. "We know it's not your fault..."

"Is that why you called us here, Oscar?" Fred asked gently. "To help you clean up?"

"No, no..." Oscar shook his head vigorously. "Well, if you could, y'know, that would be great, because, y'know, this is a big place and I'm doing this mainly on weekends and..."

Olive interrupted. "But there's another reason."

"Yeah," Oscar looked embarrassed. "We're, uh, haunted."

"_Raunted?" _Scooby's whimpering went into overdrive. He was quickly joined by Shaggy.

Otto looked around again. "No kidding."

"By a ghost," Oscar added. "Well, I mean, of course it's a ghost. You wouldn't be haunted by a sandwich. Unless it was a really bad sandwich, in which case it'd..."

"OSCAR!" Olive sighed. "The ghost?"

"Oh yeah. The ghost of my Great-Uncle Rayenyrk."

Shaggy shuddered. "The ghost... Of a vampire... mad scientist... _WIZARD?"_

"That is so awesome..." Shag and Scoob stared at Otto, who shrugged. "Hey, just sayin'..."

"Here's his picture."

Oscar led them to a library where a huge, highly unpleasant portrait of the man hung crookedly. As they passed the barred window, Jamie Jam ducked down just in time. She continued to listen outside. The Scooby Gang and the Odd Squad agents looked up at the sinister painting of the bald, pointed-eared, fanged, clawed, ancient-looking man in the crimson robe.

"People keep saying they're seeing him float around the place screaming, moaning, and ordering people to get out. And I mean, that does _sound _like Great-Uncle Rayenyrk..."

"That's ridiculous!" Velma insisted. "There are no such things as ghosts!"

"Yeah," Shaggy giggled nervously. "I know that... And you know that... But does THE GHOST know that?"

"There are no ghosts," Olive agreed. "It says so in the Odd Squad Handbook."

A-ha!" Otto leapt forward. "The Handbook also says there's no such thing as Bigfoot!"

"So?" Fred asked.

"So then how do you explain THIS?" With a flourish, Otto pulled a photo out of his pocket and showed it to the others.

Velma stared at the photo. "That's a raccoon."

"What?" Otto looked at the photo himself. "Ah, man! Again?"

"Anyway," Oscar interjected. "That's why Aunt Wendy isn't here anymore. Or anyone else, really. They said they saw this ghost and they all left." He looked around. "I'm... pretty sure it's some sort of hoax. I mean, it has to be, right? So that's why I called you guys!"

"Leave it to us, Oscar!" Fred replied. "The Scooby Doo Detective Agency is on the case!"

"Why does he always say that?" Shaggy whined. "I don't like being terrified on an empty stomach? Where's the kitchen in this crazy castle?"

"Don't worry, guys! I already ordered some pizza!"

There was a blood-curdling scream from the other room.

"That must be Delivery Debbie now! Excuse me a second..." Oscar hurried out of the room. "I probably better give her a huge tip to make up for it..."

Shaggy sighed. "Well, at least there's pizza! That'll make up for it a little. As long as we don't end up being chased by ghosts!"

"Shag," Velma sniffed. "How many times do I have to tell you? There's NO SUCH THING AS GHOSTS!"

Shaggy turned to reply, then froze, hair standing on end. "Oh yeah?" He gasped. "Then wh-wh-what do you call _that_?"

They all turned to see a glowing spectral figure emerging from the portrait on the wall. Clawed, fanged, and robed, it floated toward them.

"GEEEEEEEEEEEEEET OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUT..." It hissed. "GEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET OOOOOOOOOOOOOOUT!"

To Be continued...


	3. Chapter 3

"_LEAVE OR BE DOOOOOOOOOOOOMED..."_

The ghastly phantom floated in front of Olive, Otto, and the Scooby Doo gang, flexing its dagger-like talons and hissing. It was transparent, the portrait of Oscar's Great-Uncle Rayenyrk clearly visible behind it. The resemblance was uncanny.

"I thought you said there was no such thing as ghosts..." Otto whispered to Olive.

Olive's eyes were wide. "I... I don't... I..."

"_LEAVE OR BE DOOOOOOOOOOOMED..."_

"Hey guys!" Oscar wandered back in carrying a stack of pizza boxes. "Pizza's here! I really gotta find a way to keep Archon from answering the door. He almost gave poor Delivery Debbie a heart attack. I mean, she nearly dropped the boxes, which is major for her. And those Jehovah's Witnesses from last week are still threatening to sue... Anyway,I wasn't sure what you folks liked so I got some cheese and some pepperoni and I think there's a vegetarian for you, Velma, and..." Oscar froze, gasping at the apparition.

"_LEAVE OR BE DOOOOOOOOOOMED..."_

Startled, Oscar tossed the pizza boxes. Three blurs streaked around him, snatching the boxes out of the air before they could splatter and placing them on a nearby table.

"Whew!" Shaggy gasped. "That was a close one!"

"Reah!" Scooby had purloined a slice. He gulped it down. "Rum!"

Otto was sorting through them. "Where's the Classic Cheese? That's the best, Debbie's Classic Cheese is totally..."

The phantom shrieked and cackled and reminded them it was still there and they were supposed to be terrified.

"_LEAVE OR BE DOOOOOOOOOOOOMED!"_

Then it vanished. Otto stared at where it had been.

"Are those our only options?" He turned to the others. "I don't wanna be doomed!"

"Nobody's going to be doomed, Otto." Olive struck a determined pose. "We're staying right here. We have to help Oscar."

"Right," Otto nodded and stood beside his partner. "We gotta help Oscar." He paused. "Can we cry while we're doing it?"

"Um, actually guys..." Oscar rubbed the back of his neck. "I really didn't know how bad this was gonna get with the ghost and everything. If you wanna leave, it's cool. I understand..."

Shaggy and Scooby headed toward the door. "Well, when you put it that way..." They grabbed a couple of pizzas for the road. Velma intercepted them and marched them back.

"No. We're not leaving," Olive insisted. "It's our job to fight oddness. And this... ghost, whatever it is, is definitely odd."

"Right," Fred stepped up. "And it's our job to catch ghosts. We're all staying right here."

"I just _knew _he'd say that..." Shaggy whimpered. Scooby sobbed and they embraced, trembling with fear.

"We stay," Velma concurred, shooting them a dirty look. "All of... us...?" She looked around. "Where's Daphne?"

They looked around. While they all talking, Daphne had quietly vanished.

"She has to be around here somewhere!" Fred insisted. "Come on, let's split us and start searching!"

#

"_DAPH-NEEEEEE? DAPH-NEEEEEE!"_

Fred and Oscar strolled through the hallways on one side of the haunted house, searching.

"Your uncle had... quite a house," Fred dodged around a stuffed and mounted stegosaurus. "Do you think he really was a vampire?"

"What?" Oscar snorted. "Noooooo. That's crazy. Of course he wasn't a _vampire, _for pete's sake, that's just one of those stories..."

"Well, that's nice to know." Fred mused a second. "If you don't mind me asking, how did he die?"

"He, um... He didn't get back to his coffin before sunrise and he, uh, disintegrated."

"WHAT?"

"But that doesn't prove anything."

Fred nodded politely.

Just then, Oscar's badge-phone rang. Oscar answered it. "Yello!" Pause. "Okay, great! Thanks! See ya soon!" He closed the phone and clipped the badge back on his labcoat. "That was Owen," Oscar explained. "He's rounded up a bunch of monsters and he and Orson are taking them back to headquarters for safekeeping."

"Owen said that?" Fred raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. Why?"

"Then who's that outside?"

Fred pointed out a nearby window where Owen was visible prowling around on the edge of the forest near the house.

They hurried over, opened the window, and leaned out.

"Owen!"

Owen started and looked around until he saw them. "Oh! Uh... hi!" He waved a bit awkwardly.

"What are you doing here? You just said on the phone you were taking the Komodo dragons back to headquarters!"

"What? That is, I... Uh... I..." Owen shifted nervously. "Oh yeah! Of course I did! It's just... Um..." His eyes darted around. "I... lost my, um, my lucky... rock! Yeah, that's it!" He bent down, grabbed a random stone from the ground and held it up so they could see. "Found it! Well, I'd better be going now!"

"Okay, bye!" Oscar straightened up and closed the window. "Didn't know Owen had a lucky rock. Oh well, it takes all kinds, amiright?"

He and Fred resumed their search.

Outside, Owen ducked around to the side of the house, hissing in anger. He hurled the rock away, looked around, blurred and elongated, and turned into The Shape-Shifter. Making sure she was unobserved, she disappeared into the shadows.

#

"_DAPH-NEEEEEEE? DAPH-NEEEEE!"_

Meanwhile, Velma and Olive were searching the other side of the haunted house.

"So," Olive asked, "How do you and Oscar know each other?"

"Oh, we play poker together," Velma explained. "Every Thursday, a bunch of us go up to his house and play cards."

"Hmph," Olive nodded. "I didn't think that was canon."

"It's not. But neither is this."

Olive took the point. "I can't really imagine Oscar playing poker. Is he any good?"

"He's... getting better," Velma said carefully. "His biggest problem is his tell."

"His tell? What's a tell?"

"A tell is someone poker players do unconsciously when they're bluffing, like tugging their earlobes or whistling. If you can figure out a player's tell, you know whenever he's trying to bluff."

"Oh," Olive considered. "So what's Oscar's tell?"

"He bursts into tears, confesses he's bluffing and apologizes," Velma sighed. "He's working on it..."

Olive shook her head. Then she froze. "Did you hear that?"

Both girls listened. Far off in the distance, they could hear music.

They looked at one another. "Let's check it out!"

Finding a side-door, they followed the sound outside to an old shed at the edge of the forest. Now the music was much louder and more distinct.

Olive tilted her head. "What in the world...?"

Velma nodded. "That's Gin Gillette, if I'm not mistaken. But where's it coming from?"

"Let's find out." Olive pounded on the door. It swung open to reveal Odd Todd and Kooky The Clown dancing to Todd's iPhone.

"Scribbles!" Odd Todd beamed sardonically at the startled agent. "You've come to join the party! How exciting!"

Olive took a step backwards, then steeled herself. "What are you doing here, Todd?"

"First, it's ODD Todd now, Scribbles!" Odd Todd struck his ferocious pose. Olive tried not to flinch. Velma held her shoulders to support her. "And tenth, I'm dancing. With my date." He gestured to Kooky. "Isn't that right, sweetheart?"

Kooky froze and it was obvious from her expression this was the first she'd heard of it. But she quickly nodded in agreement and hurried over to grab Todd's hand.

"You're dating a clown?" Velma smirked.

"Hey, it's a step up. I used to date _her._" He indicated Olive.

"We NEVER dated." Olive spat back. "EVER. We were work partners."

Odd Todd shrugged. "Hey, comme se, comme sa." Olive glared daggers at him. "Still, y'got a reason for barging in where you're not wanted, Scribbles?"

Velma answered. "We heard the noise and decided to investigate. That house up there belongs to a friend of ours."

"Yeah," Olive added. "And you're trespassing on private property!"

"Somebody actually lives in that wannabe Haunted Mansion?" Odd Todd held up his hands. "Okay, fine. We'll go elsewhere. You girls can go back to your knitting or whatever..."

He stuck the iPhone back in his pocket and made like he was getting ready to leave. Olive and Velma turned and left.

"He's up to something," Olive whispered to Velma as they walked away.

"Obviously," Velma answered. "But what?"

Meanwhile, Odd Todd's associate Tilya had snuck in through a back entrance. Odd Todd tossed a large, heavy sack into her arms.

"They bought it! Great! Get this back to the motorcycle before they come back!"

#

Shaggy, Scooby, and Otto were left in the library to wait in case Daphne came back.

"Who's a good doggie?" Otto dangled a slice of pizza in front of Scooby and scritched his head. "Who's a good ol' doggie?"

"Ri am!" Scoob answered, gulping down the pizza and sighing. "Ri am! Re!" Otto continued petting him and scratching behind his ears.

Shaggy was disgusted. "Honestly, Scoob, don't you have any dignity?"

"Rot for Relivery Rebbie rizza!" Scoob turned on the big, sad eyes and whimpered piteously until Otto fed him another slice. "Ree-licious!"

"Well, I'm glad you're having fun!" Shag snorted. "With that creepy ghost around, I'm so nervous I can barely even eat!" Shaggy devoured another half a pizza. "But I'll force myself." Then he spotted a dark eye gleaming in the shadows. "ZOINKS!" He jumped into Otto's lap. "What's that? What's that?"

Climbing with some difficulty out from under Shaggy, Otto went over to where he was pointing. After a moment, he smiled.

"Hey! Norman!"

"Who?"

Otto held a stuffed bear. "Oscar's old teddy bear from when he was five. I wonder what he's doing here?" Otto cooed and scritched the bear's head while Scoob looked on, distinctly jealous.

"A reddy rear! SHEESH!"

"I guess coping with this place, Oscar needs all the help he can get!" Shaggy looked around nervously. "I just hope the others get back before that ghost shows up again!"

Otto set Norman down. "Do you really think it'll come back?"

"They always do!" Shaggy whined. "And they always come after US!" He whimpered. "Why can't they go after Fred or Daphne for a change? It's always..."

There was a loud 'THUNK', like something hitting the wall. All three jumped.

"What was that?" Otto looked around nervously.

THUNK! They heard it again.

"IT'S THE GHOST!"

Shaggy and Scooby vaulted up into Otto's arms. He staggered under their weight.

THUNK! And again.

"What're we gonna do?" wailed Shaggy.

"Um, GET OFF ME?" Otto dropped them both on the floor.

There was another THUNK! and Shag and Scoob dived under the table. After a moment's hesitation, Otto joined them.

Unseen by anyone, Norman slowly turned his head to look around the room.

#

"GUYS!"

THUNK!

"GUYS! IS ANYONE THERE?"

THUNK! THUNK!

Daphne pounded on the wall behind the secret passage as hard as she could. There was no response.

"Oh, it's no good! Nobody can hear me!" She looked around the cluttered passage-way she'd fallen into after accidentally triggering the wall panel and falling in. "What am I going to do?"

And behind her in the shadows, a figure crept slowly towards her...

TO BE CONTINUED...


	4. Chapter 4

"Guys!" Trapped in a secret passageway, Daphne continued pounding on the wall behind the bookcase. "I'm in here! Guys?"

Unbeknownst to her, on the other side of the wall, Scooby, Shaggy, and Otto were hiding under a table just a few feet away listening to the mysterious thumping noises coming from the walls.

"There it goes again!" sobbed Shaggy. "Oh man, this is, like, totally spooksville!"

Otto was starting to get bored. He'd almost finished the pizza he'd taken under the table with him and shifted position to get the blood flowing back into his legs.

On top of the table, Norman was quietly observing everything around him.

#

"This is becoming tedious," Lady Bread huffed. "We have been wandering about this place for hours and we've not found a single..."

"Sssh!" The Utensilier gestured. "There's a shed over there."

The two villains hurried over to the small, dilapidated tool-shed outside the haunted house.

"Blast! It's padlocked!" Lady Bread looked around. "Perhaps there's a back entrance..."

"Whoever heard of a shed with a back door?" The Utensilier adjusted her tool-hand. "Don't worry, I've got this..."

She converted her hand into a skeleton key and picked the lock.

"Excellent!" Lady Bread watched, eyes glistening in anticipation. "Now open the door, quickly! I would assist, but my hands are loaves of bread..."

"Yeah, yeah..." The Utensilier pulled open the no-longer-locked door. The inside of the shed was dark, but they could see a figure moving inside.

"Who's that?" The Utensilier squinted.

Lady Bread gazed into the darkness. "You wouldn't happen to have a flashlight on that thing, would you?"

The figure drifted towards them, hissing balefully.

"GEEEEEEEET OOOOOOOOOOUUUT!" The ghost of Rayendyrk shrieked. "GEEEEET OUUUUUUUUUUT!"

"I... I... I..."

"Oh, gracious..."

They slammed the door and fled.

#

"So this room here's pretty much a total loss..."

Oscar opened a door in the hallway. Fred peered inside. There was a bare bulb hanging from an exposed light fixture swaying back and forth in the complete absence of a breeze. The brick walls were decaying and grimy, covered with some sort of unidentifiable slime. The dangerously rotted wooden floor was covered with dead flies and poodle figurines; there was a pentagram burnt into the center. And the voice of Jimmy Osmond emanated from the crumbling brick, echoing in all directions.

"I'll be your Long-Haired Lover From Liverpool and I'll do any..."

Fred shut the door. Then he opened it again.

"...Thing you say. I'll be your clown or your..."

Fred shut the door and opened it again.

"...Puppet or your April Fool if you'll be..."

Fred shut the door firmly. "Is there any way to turn that off?"

"None," Oscar shook his head. "And therein lies the horror."

The doorbell rang.

"Hoboy," Oscar braced himself. "Come on, we'd better get there before Archon does."

Fred looked back at the room, then sighed and ran after Oscar.

#

"POTATO!"

"Will you _hush?_" Oren hissed at his partner as they snuck around the house's perimeter. "We've got to keep our voices down!" He smirked. "Man, I can't wait to see the looks on Otto and Olive's faces when we solve this case before they can even... Sssh!"

Olaf looked bewildered. Oren pointed to Mister Lightning only a few feet away also skulking about.

"Okay, you jump him while I get the netinator ready."

Olaf stared at him in horror.

"Hurry up, before he gets away!"

Olaf shook his head. "_You _jump!"

Oren sighed and started digging through his pockets.

"Okay, fine. Would you do it for a potato?"

Olaf shook his head, more firmly this time.

"Two potatoes? Three? Fo...uh-oh..."

Oren and Olaf backed away as Mister Lightning heard them arguing. He advanced, rubbing his hands together.

"Odd Squad! Well, I ain't goin' without a fight, I'm telling you that much..."

Oren looked at Olaf. Olaf looked at Oren. They both looked at Mister Lightning.

"RUN!"

They fled, barely dodging the lightning bolt that singed the ground behind them. Mister Lightning walked briskly after them.

"Okay, great! Time for some target practice!"

"Why didn't you jump him?" Oren whined as they ran. "If you'd listened to me..."

They rounded a corner and collided with Freeze Ray Ray.

#

Otto looked over at Shaggy and Scooby. "So, we're just gonna hide under this table all day?"

Scoob's head bobbed up and down. "Reah, reah!"

Shaggy shivered. "In this crazy house, that's the only smart thing to do. In fact, I'd take this table outside and hide there if those Komodo dragons weren't roaming around..."

Otto shook his head. Leaning forward to grab the last pizza slice, he heard another 'THUNK!' on the wall. When he looked back, the slice was gone. Scooby was trying hard to look innocent as he chewed.

"Aw, man!" Otto sighed. "Seriously?"

He was considering grabbing another pizza when he happened to notice a clue.

"Guys!" Leaping to his feet, he banged his head painfully against the table. He clambered out from underneath it and ran over to the bookcase. "Guys, look at the dust on the floor!"

"Yeah," Shaggy sneezed. "Oscar really needs to vacuum in here!"

"No!" Otto sighed in exasperation. "Well, I mean, yeah, he does, but I mean look at the way the dust is swept back here!"

He was right. The floor was coated with a thin layer of dust, with footprints from the agents and the gang running around earlier. But just in front of the bookcase was a clean crescent-shape, as if something had slid across the floor and pushed the dust aside.

"Huh?" Scooby peered where Otto was pointing. "Hey, reah!"

"And isn't Daphne the one who's always falling into trap doors and stumbling into hidden panels?"

"Uh-huh!" Shaggy crawled out from under the table as well. "Ol' danger-prone Daphne!"

Otto started running his hands up and down the walls around the bookcase. "Then maybe when that ghost-thing startled us, she leaned back against here and..."

Otto found the trigger. The bookcase slid open, allowing a relieved Daphne to emerge.

"Whew! Thanks, guys!" Daphne sighed with relief. "I thought I'd never get out of there!"

In the shadows behind the sliding panel, Tiny Dancer gnashed her teeth in frustration. Then she twirled away deeper into the secret maze behind the walls.

#

Olive talked into her badge phone. "That's great! And you figured it out by yourself? I am very impressed, partner! We'll be right there!"

Reclipping her badge on her lapel, she explained to Velma, "Otto found Daphne. She fell behind a sliding panel behind the bookcase."

Velma nodded. "Yeah. Typical Daphne..."

"What I don't understand is why Oscar didn't know..."

They heard a crash behind them. Turning, they ducked as a nearby tree was burnt to a cinder by a lightning bolt.

"What..."

Olive pulled Velma back and indicated two villains battling a few feet away. Lightning-bolts and ice-blasts flew in all directions.

"Hey man, I got here first! You clear off!"

"Certainly not! I've as much right here as you!"

Velma was puzzled. "Who..?"

"Mister Lightning," Olive explained in a whisper. "And Freeze Ray Ray. Two of Odd Squad's most dangerous enemies. But what are they doing here?"

"I've got a feeling that might be the key to this whole mystery!" Velma peered out from their hiding place behind the house. "Hey, wait a minute," she motioned for Olive to join her. "Aren't those Odd Squad agents back there?"

Olive looked, then sighed in exasperation. "Oren and Olaf."

The duo were both on the other side of the villains, frozen solid in a rectangle of ice with only their heads poking out, struggling to escape. They were just close enough to the battle to be terrified.

"We've got to get them out of there before they get hurt!"

Olive sighed. "Yeah, I guess we should..."

Velma accidentally rustled some branches in a nearby bush. The villains stopped fighting and looked around.

"Did you hear that?"

Velma and Olive exchanged panicked looks. Then Velma came up with an idea.

"HEY, GUYS!" She shouted at the top of her lungs. "I THINK I SAW SOMETHING BACK HERE!"

Mister Lightning and Freeze Ray Ray glared at one another. "We'll settle this later!"

Then they fled.

Once the coast was clear, the girls emerged. "Lucky thing that worked..."

Oren looked like he was about to faint and/or cry with relief. Then he caught himself and pasted his usual supercilious sneer on his face.

"Agent Olive! Well, it took you long enough!"

Velma looked back and forth between the agents. "What are they doing here?"

Olive sneered back at Oren. "Probably trying to poach another one of our cases!"

"Hey," Oren tried to look smug, a difficult thing to achieve when encased in ice. "Can I help it if we just happen to show up and save you?"

Olive rolled her eyes. "Who's the one who needs saving?"

Oren blushed, but then Olaf howled, startling Velma.

"Yeah," Oren laughed. "Totally!"

With considerable effort, the two boys managed to push their feet free from the bottom of the ice block.

"And now," Oren and Olaf wrenched the block off the ground, staggering somewhat from the weight. "If you'll _excuse_ us, _we _have some _work_ to do!"

The duo staggered away, trying to maintain a semblance of dignity.

"No... No, Olaf, _this _way... This..."

"YAAAAAAY!"

"Not now, Olaf! This... No, this way..."

Velma watched them. "Do you think they'll be all right?"

Olive was facepalming. "They'll be fine. Come on, let's get back to the others."

#

Oscar and Fred emerged from the hallway just in time to see Delivery Doug strut past Oscar's uncle's spooky robot, bags of sandwiches in either hand.

"Arch, m'man! How's it shakin'? Got a delivery for..."

"Oh, hey Doug!" Oscar ran over, looking apologetically at Fred. "Heh, heh. Totally forgot about him, sorry." He started fumbling through his pockets for the money to pay.

"Wait," Fred was still sorting it out. "You ordered more food?"

"Just some sandwiches," Oscar handed Doug his money. "My uncle was a regular customer of Doug's."

"Yeah," Doug sniffed and wiped his hand against his shirt. "Good ol' Ray. Sorry to see him go. He was one of the few people around here who could appreciate quality egg salad!" Then it hit him. "He was your uncle?"

"Well, _grand_-uncle. Actually, sort of a great-great-great-great-grand uncle, once removed. Or something." Oscar made a face. "It's really complicated..."

"Cool!" Doug gave Oscar a thumbs up. "I guess mad science runs in your family!"

Oscar went dead serious. "I am NOT a mad scientist," he insisted with a dangerous calm. "I'm not. I'm a wacky scientist. There's a difference."

Doug coughed, embarrassed. "Hey, sorry, man, I didn't mean anything by it..."

Fortunately, just then, Shaggy and Scooby poked their heads out of the library. "Did someone mention sandwiches?"

Fred smiled. "Figures. Just mention food and those two turn up!"

Doug smiled, handing them the bags. "Dig in, guys! You're in for a treat!"

Giggling with excitement, Shaggy and Scooby opened the bags. Then they froze, staring inside.

"What's wrong?" Fred asked. "You guys love food!"

"We do!" Shaggy continued to stare into the bags. "But what's THIS stuff?"

Gasping, Scooby leapt back. "Rit's ALIVE!"

"It's WHAT?" Fred picked up the bags and looked inside. "Good heavens! It's changing colors and moving!"

Doug snorted. "That, my friend, is the sign of a truly distinctive egg salad sandwich!"

"No argument there!" Shaggy giggled nervously. "Are those dead ladybugs?"

"I prefer to think of them as crunchies," Doug explained.

Fred handed the bags to Shaggy, who handed them to Oscar.

"Um, thanks Doug!" He managed a smile.

"You're extremely welcome!" Doug bowed. "And now, I shall leave you to your upcoming gastronomic ecstasy!" He smiled at Fred, Shag, and Scooby. "Aw, man! I envy you! One's first Delivery Doug egg salad sandwich is an unforgettable experience! You can't imagine how many people have told me that..."

"Um," Fred looked in the bag again. "I suspect maybe we can."

Waving, Doug departed. They all looked at Oscar.

"You're not actually going to eat that stuff, are you?"

"What?" Oscar shook his head. "Nononononono! No. Oh, no." He handed the bags to Archon. "Archon! Attic! Attic!"

The robot lumbered off to the attic with the sandwiches.

"Keeps the pterodactyls out." Oscar shrugged. "Also the bats and the spiders. We haven't had any rats either, but I'm pretty sure that's all the Komodo dragons..."

Velma and Olive barreled through the still-open front door, grabbing Oscar and dragging him with them into the library.

"Come on, Oscar. We need to talk."

#

To Be Continued...


	5. Chapter 5

Fred, Shaggy and Scooby followed Olive, Oscar, and Velma through the house.

"So let me get this this straight..." Olive sighed deeply, trying to keep her temper. "You KNEW there was a secret passageway behind the bookcase?"

"Oh, sure," Oscar shrugged. "This kinda house, of course there's a secret passageway behind the bookcase. I spent most of last week cleaning it out, in fact. My uncle had all kinds of junk stored back there. I mean, he had an old television that didn't work anymore and a vacuum cleaner and some sports jackets and his Beanie Baby collection and a _really _old box of Wheat-Thins, that was pretty nasty. I think they'd petrified. Oh, and I found a complete set of MODERN SCREEN I'm selling on eBay. With any luck, those should bring in a few bucks. And then there's..."

"OSCAR!" Olive took a deep breath and tried to focus on not killing him. "Didn't it occur to you to when Daphne disappeared that she might have _fallen into_ the secret panel behind the bookcase?"

Oscar looked puzzled. "Why would she do that?"

Olive facepalmed.

"Why would she do that?" Shaggy repeated. "Because her entire life revolves falling into secret panels! Everywhere we go, there's a secret panel, she falls into it..."

Fred stepped in. "Look, she's safe now and that's what matters. Let's get back on track. Oscar, are there any more secret panels in the house?"

"Oh, sure! Tons of 'em! They're all over the place! I still gotta get the ones in the hallway straightened out, that's where he stored the garden tools..."

As they entered the library, Oscar saw the teddy bear on the table. "Norman!"

Racing over, he grabbed the bear. "Where have you been, you little rascal? I've been looking everywhere for you!" Blushing suddenly, he added. "I mean, for sentimental reasons, of course. I... Wait a second..."

Oscar lifted Norman up and down, weighing him carefully in his hands.

"Something's wrong here. Norman usually doesn't weight this much."

With Oscar's permission, Velma took the bear herself. "Are you sure? He feels all right to me..."

"There are some things a man just knows!" Oscar snapped. He started examining the bear. "Something's definitely wrong here..."

He gasped. Under the green ribbon around Norman's neck was fresh stitching.

Gently, Olive took the bear out of Oscar's hands. "Oscar, you may want to look away..."

Oscar looked away. He couldn't help wincing, though, when he heard the sound of Olive ripping the stitches apart.

Fred and Velma peered over her shoulders.

"There's wiring in here!" Velma gasped, pulling out a bit of circuitry.

"And look at the eyes!" Fred tapped them. "They're really cameras! Someone rigged up this bear to spy on us!"

"Oh, Norman..." Oscar whispered. "What have they _done _to you?"

Velma tried to comfort Oscar, who was growing more and more pale. "But who would use a teddy bear to spy on Oscar?"

Olive snapped her fingers. "Evil Teddy!" Noticing the total bewilderment on the Scooby Gang's faces, she explained. "She's a villain who uses teddy bears to create oddness." She looked at Oscar as she turned over the bear. "Oscar, I'm sorry, but this is necessary. You understand, right?"

Closing his eyes, Oscar nodded intently. He braced himself.

With a swift, sudden motion, Olive ripped off the bear's head. Reaching inside, she tore out the circuits, the wires, and the camera equipment, smashing them to pieces. Far away, Evil Teddy raged as her monitor screen went blank.

She handed the decapitated Norman back to the shaken scientist. He accepted the bear with trembling hands.

"You can fix him, right?" Olive asked softly.

Oscar instantly brightened. "Oh, sure! Just let me get my sewing kit..."

He hurried out of the room. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Velma considered the situation. "I'd better go with him, just to make sure he's safe."

"That's a good idea," Fred responded. "We should all stick together. Nobody go off alone." He looked around. "Come to think of it, where are Otto and Daphne?"

#

In the forest outside, Oren and Olaf were huddled under a tree, shivering. The ice block had finally thawed enough for them to break free and now they were wringing out their drenched suits as best they could and trying to get their circulation going.

"...All I'm saying is, if you'd jumped Mister Lightning like I told you..."

Olaf shook his head, then howled.

"Well, if you'd jumped him fast enough, I could have caught him with my netanator..."

Olaf howled again.

"Well... Well, I would've thought of something..." Oren adjusted his jacket; it kept sliding over to one side. He pulled it back and it slid over to the other side. "This suit's never gonna fit again!" He squeezed the last of the water out of his tie. "I'll hafta get a new one or..."

He froze, staring at the thing which had descended from the sky in front of him. Olaf turned to look, then froze and stared too.

It stood almost completely concealed in the deepening shadows of the forest, staring back at them with huge, round eyes that seemed to glow in the dark. It towered over them, motionless and silent. They couldn't make it out very well in the darkness but they could see an almost human shape except with what looked like enormous wings and a birdlike beak.

Oren's mouth open and closed a few times before he found his voice. "Okay..." He whispered to Olaf. "Just back away slowly..."

The thing flapped its wings. They both screamed, then jumped up and fled, their soggy sneakers squishing as they ran.

The boy raised the metallic mask he wore over his face and watched, puzzled. He stepped down from the tree stump he was standing on and looked back at the smaller figure approaching.

"Just let them go. I'll deal with them later."

#

Olive found the post-it note Otto had left. "Guys," she read aloud. "Went with Daphne to explore secret passage behind bookcase. Love, Otto." She shook her head wearily.

"Man!" Shaggy exclaimed. "Is he nuts? That passageway's probably the creepiest part of this whole creepy scene!"

"Reah!" Scooby trembled.

Oscar re-entered carrying his sewing kit in his arms. Norman's body was balanced on top of the lid and Oscar clutched the little bear's head in his hand. He sat down in the nearest chair, dug out a needle and thread, and set to work mending his bear. Velma left him to his work and hurried over to the others.

Fred was asking Olive, "Do you think they'll be all right?"

"I'd better call them." Removing her badge, Olive punched in Otto's badge number.

"O-T-T-O!"

"Otto!" Olive motioned for the others. "Are you guys okay?"

"Sure!" Otto answered. "Didn't you get my note? Daphne and I are checking out the hidden passageways! Man, it's so cool back here! There's writing all over the walls!"

Oscar looked up from his sewing. "Yeah. My uncle was an inveterate diarist. He'd write about all kinds of stuff, anything that popped into his head..."

"Your uncle?" Olive's blood froze. "OTTO! DON'T READ THE STUFF ON THE WALLS!"

Daphne's voice came over the phone. "Too late. I feel ill..."

Then Otto: "What's this thing about pigs?"

Fred leaned over and spoke into the phone. "Hi, Otto. It's Fred. Is Daphne still there with you?"

"I'm fine, Fred," Daphne's voice responded. "We blocked off the bookcase so it wouldn't close all the way and we're marking the walls as we go so we won't get lost."

"Good thinking!" Fred replied, then turned to the others. "What does she mean about the bookcase?"

"Probably this," Velma bent down and picked up a red sneaker which was lying on the floor. She re-opened the panel and shoved the sneaker back in. "It must've popped out when the door closed."

Olive hung up. "I don't like this," She paced, thinking. "There are villains all over the place outside."

Velma nodded. "We ran into... What were their names? Odd Ted..."

"Todd."

"Odd Todd and that little clown girl, then the Freezer..."

"Freeze Ray Ray."

"Yes, and Mister Lightshow earlier."

Fred swallowed. "Do you think there could be others out there?"

Olive walked over, reached outside the window, and yanked The Noisemaker up from his hiding place in the bushes. "I'm pretty sure, yes."

"I vill go now..." Noisemaker slunk away, his costume clanking and clattering.

#

Otto grimaced as his stockinged foot stepped on something squishy.

"Man! I should've propped the door open with something besides my shoe!" He limped along, shoe, sock, shoe, sock. "I just wish I could see better!"

"I'm kinda glad we can't," Daphne cringed. "I get the feeling there's stuff in here we're better off not seeing."

"Yeah, well, I'm gonna be washing some of it off my sock when we get out..."

They turned a corner and spotted something.

"What's this?"

"It's..." Daphne examined the machine sitting in the middle of the tunnel. "It's an old-fashioned cigarette machine!" Noticing Otto's bewilderment, she explained, "There used to be vending machines that sold cigarettes the same way they sold candy and soda. They'd turn up in bars, hotel lobbies..."

"But what's one doing _here?_" Otto pondered. "Maybe Oscar's uncle was a heavy smoker..."

"Or maybe he just collected odd things," Daphne studied the machine. "It's not plugged in, so apparently he didn't use it that often..."

"We're gonna hafta ask Oscar about this," Otto nodded.

"It... What's that?"

They looked past the machine to the figure rising slowly in the distance.

Otto looked at it, then at Daphne. "Uh-oh!"

The red-robed figure cackled and advanced toward them. "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRAAAAAAAARRRRRR!"

#

Back in the library, Oscar had just finished successfully repairing Norman. He held him up proudly and checked him over for any more damage.

Velma, meanwhile, was pondering. "But what are all those villains doing here? What could they want?"

Oscar blinked. "Oh, that. They're probably after the cache of doomsday weapons my uncle is rumored to have stashed away in his secret hidden laboratory."

Everyone stared at him, jaws dropped.

"Did I mention the secret laboratory?"

Everyone continued to stare at him.

"I'm sure I mentioned it..."

#


	6. Chapter 6

The sinister figure in the red robes advanced on Otto and Daphne.

"Okay, look," Otto said to Daphne. "I've seen enough of these things to know that's probably not a real ghost." He reached behind his back and produced a gadget. "Just stand back. I'll handle this."

The figure's eyes flashed with a sudden light. The cigarette machine vanished.

Otto looked at where the machine had been, then at the figure, then at Daphne.

"Uh-oh..."

Daphne grabbed Otto. "RUN!"

They fled back the way they came, not noticing the flattened remnants of the cigarette machine on the floor.

Once he was sure they were gone, Fladam removed the robe.

"Gotcha! Man, this is easier than I thought! Now if I can just find that dang room..."

A noise caught Fladam's attention. He turned to see Oscar's deceased uncle Rayenyrk The Vampire King ascend through the floor.

"GEEEEETTTTTTTTT OOOOOOOOOUUUUUUTTTTT..."

"Oh... Oh man..."

#

"Okay..." Fred breathed deeply. "Okay. At least now we have some idea what we're dealing with..."

Olive questioned Oscar. "Your uncle left an arsenal of doomsday weapons? And it's somewhere in this house?"

Oscar nodded. "Or on the grounds. I haven't actually found it yet. But it's supposed to be around here somewhere..."

Shaggy and Scooby had resumed their hiding place under the table. "Aw, man! Like this place wasn't spooky enough..."

"Reah!" Scooby broke out in fresh whimpers.

Olive was pondering. "Do you have any idea what kind of doomsday weapons they'd be?"

"What difference does it make?" Shaggy sobbed from his hiding place. "You've seen one doomsday weapon, you've seen them all!"

"Well, now we know what's going on," Fred nodded. "Obviously, the villains are all trying to find the weapons! And one of them disguised themselves as the ghost of Oscar's uncle to scare everyone else off!"

"Is it, though?" Olive pondered. "I wonder..."

Velma leaned over the table. "Y'hear that, you two chickens? It's not a real ghost."

"Ro rares!" Scooby answered.

"Yeah!" Shaggy added. "Those Odd Squad villains are scary enough, thank you!" He shuddered. "I heard there's one who turns people into puppies!"

"A rup ramed Scooby-Doo?" Scooby sobbed.

Before anyone could respond to that, Otto and Daphne burst out from behind the bookcase. Otto slammed the secret passage closed, then turned to face everyone.

"We saw the ghost!" Otto gasped. "Again!"

"Otto!" Velma walked over to the flustered Odd Squad agent. "Honestly, how many times do we need to remind you? There's no such thing as..."

Fladam burst through the secret passage, colliding with Otto, Daphne and Velma, sending all of them tumbling across the room.

"Fladam!" Olive rushed over and grabbed Otto by the arm, helping him to his feet. She grabbed a gadget from behind her back and trained it at the villain. "Don't move!"

Fladam and Velma were in a heap on the floor. Both of them disengaged, groping for their respective eyewear, which had gone flying when they slammed into each other.

"My glasses!" Velma exclaimed. "I can't see without my glasses!"

She grabbed some glasses and put them on.

"These aren't..."

A ray shot out, turning Fladam two-dimensional.

"Velma! Shut your eyes!" Olive hurried over. She and Otto looked around quickly, spotted Velma's glasses on the floor, and handed them to her, taking Fladam's glasses in exchange.

Fred helped Daphne up. "Let's see how you like a taste of your own medicine, Fladam!" He sneered at the two-dimensional villain flopping helplessly about.

"Look, never mind about that, man!" Fladam responded, squirming frantically. "There's a ghost after me!"

Further whimpering from under the table. "A RHO... RHO... RHOST?"

Velma sighed in exasperation. "Honestly, you too? There are no such things as..."

Rayendyrk screeched, passing through the bookcase like mist and looming over the assembled group.

"LEAVE OR BE DOOMED!"

Then he vanished into thin air.

Shaggy looked at the two Odd Squad agents.

"Do you have any villains who can do that?"

#

An hour later, they were still pondering.

"I've got it!" Otto snapped his fingers. "Shapeshifter! She turned herself into a ghost and she..."

Olive shook her head. "I... Don't know if she can actually do that."

"Gosh, maybe it _is_ my uncle's ghost." Oscar sat on a too-high chair, kicking one leg up, then the other. "I mean, if anyone could pull it off, it'd be my uncle..."

Velma sighed in exasperation. "For the last time, there are no..."

Shaggy and Scooby clamped their hands over her mouth. "DON'T SAY IT!" Shaggy looked around. "Every time somebody says that, that spook appears!"

They removed their hands. Velma sighed. "Fine. But there aren't."

"Maybe we need to look at this from another angle," Olive paced back and forth. "What villain would be able to pull this kind of thing off?"

Otto snapped his fingers. "Odd Todd!"

"Yeah, I'll be he could be beside this..."

"No, I mean... Look out the window!"

They looked outside. There they saw Odd Todd and Tilya dragging another huge snack across the ground.

Velma shook her head. "He's trying to sneak through the woods in that suit?"

"Never mind that! We need to stop him!" Olive pulled a gadget from behind her back. "Come on!"

The entire group, Odd Squad and Scooby Gang, ran outside.

"ODD SQUAD, ODD SQUAD! STOP RIGHT THERE, ODD TODD!"

"Be careful," Olive whispered to the others. "He can be tricky..."

Upon hearing them, Tilya dropped the sack and fled into the woods. The team surrounded Odd Todd as he struggled to move the sack on his own.

"Give it up, Todd!" Olive shouted. "We've got you!"

He looked around frantically, then adopted a super-villain pose. "It's ODD TODD now, former partner!" He glared at them and hissed. Then he tilted his head. "What are you all doing here anyway?"

Otto strode forward and grabbed the sack. "What we're doing is keeping you from stealing this..." He looked inside the sack. "...Dirt?"

They all looked at one another in bewilderment. "Dirt?"

Oscar came running over with a gadget, scanning the sack. "The only thing in this bag is dirt!"

"Well, yeah!" Odd Todd snorted. "This topsoil is wonderful for my plants! I've been collecting it for ages!"

Olive stood, hands on hips. "Do you honestly expect us to believe that?"

Oscar, meanwhile, was pondering. "It would explain where those holes in the yard keep coming from..."

"Come off it, Todd!" Otto shouted. "We know you want the..."

Fred leapt forward, clamping a hand over Otto's mouth. "Okay, fine. You're just taking dirt?"

Again, Todd snorted. "What else? Don't tell me you believe those crazy stories about a vampire ghost mad scientist and his doomsday weapons!" He laughed. "C'mon! There are no such things as ghosts!"

Shaggy and Scooby gasped. "He said it..."

And the Ghost of Rayenyrk appeared, floating toward them. "LEAVE OR BE DOOOOOOOOOOOOOMED!"

#


	7. Chapter 7

The Scooby Gang and the Odd Squad agents had cornered Odd Todd. Then they all saw the ghost of Oscar's vampiric uncle flying towards them.

"LEAVE OR BE DOOOOOOOOOMED!"

Odd Todd's jaw dropped. "Oh... My..."

He pushed his way past the others and fled.

Otto watched him disappear. "We're just gonna let him go?"

Olive shook her head. "I don't think we'll be seeing him around here any more. Besides, we have to take care of this."

Otto turned back to the ghost...

"LEAVE OR BE DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMED!"

Then back to her. "WE'RE gonna take care of THIS?"

Daphne clutched Oscar, who was startled but decided he didn't mind. Shaggy was trying to make a cross with his fingers while Scooby whimpered and hid behind his legs. Fred grabbed a tree-branch from the ground and held it like a club, waiting.

Velma stood her ground, smiling to herself.

#

Odd Todd continued running, still trying to figure it all out in his head.

"That was a ghost but it _couldn't _be a ghost because there _aren't _any ghosts but if there aren't any ghosts then what was..."

So he was understandably startled by the boy in the duck mask and wings who swooped down squawking at him.

"HOLY..." He reared back, stumbled, and slammed into a tree. The boy raised his mask and stared at him.

"Okay, this..." Todd caught himself hyperventilating. "I'm not prepared for this..." He swallowed, pulling himself together. "But I'm gonna GET prepared for this and when I am, I'm coming back and you'll all..."

The boy lunged forward. "HSSSSSSSSSSS!"

Todd rolled to his feet and fled. He met Tilya by her motorcycle.

"What happened to the dirt? You said you wanted dirt. I thought the whole point was to get dirt."

"Don't ask," Todd leapt into the sidecar. "Long story." He grabbed his crash helmet and strapped it on. "Home. NOW!"

Shrugging, Tilya mounted the cycle. They sped away.

Nearby, Kooky the Clown watched, twisting a balloon into a question mark. Then she turned to see the boy, phantasmagorical in his white garments in the moonlight.

"HSSSSSS!"

"AIIIIGH!"

Pulling a tricycle from behind her back, Kooky fled in Todd's wake.

The boy looked around, finally spotting Ms. O.

"SQUARK?"

Ms. O shook her head. "No. English."

The boy nodded. "GAWR..." He tried again, concentrating. "Guh... Good?"

Ms. O nodded. "That's fine, Otis. Now wait here. I'm going to go talk with my agents."

#

Her agents, meanwhile, were busy using every gadget they had, one by one, to try to stop the shrieking apparition headed straight at them.

"Cuffinator!"

Otto fired. The cuffs went through the ghost and fell to the ground. The ghost continued heading toward them.

"Hoboy..."

"Wallinator!"

Olive fired. A wall appeared in mid-air. The ghost flew right through it and continued heading toward them.

"Crumpets!"

Otto pulled out another gadget and fired.

"Garlic-breadinator!"

The garlic bread fell to the ground. The ghost ignored it.

Otto sputtered. "But... vampires should be stopped by garlic!"

"Apparently, ghosts of vampires aren't!" Olive produced another gadget and fired.

"Freezeinator!"

The air around the ghost froze into a solid chunk of ice which fell to the ground as the ghost flew through it and kept coming.

"Cheeseinator!"

"Really, partner?"

"Hey, it _might _work..."

It didn't. Cheese slices rained from the sky and the ghost continued advancing toward them.

"Isn't there ANY way to stop this thing?"

Velma ran over to them.

"I think I know what's going on! Just stand your ground!"

Otto gaped. "THAT THING'S HEADING RIGHT FOR US!"

"I know!" Velma responded. "But if I'm right, nothing will happen!"

Olive gulped. "I think I know where you're going! But what if you're wrong?"

Velma looked up at the bellowing apparition with its gnashing fangs and razor-sharp talons.

"Let's... not think about that!"

Otto and Olive flanked Velma on either side, gadgets at the ready. Fred stood behind her, holding his tree-branch.

The ghost was right above them, its claws inches away. Then it vanished.

Shaggy collapsed in a heap. "Oh... Oh, man... That is the closest to a ghost I ever wanna get!"

Otto blinked, turning to Velma. "So how'd you know that was gonna happen?"

Fred nodded. "I think I know."

Olive considered, then smiled. "Of course! It's the only logical explanation!"

Otto was exploding at this point. "WHAT IS?"

Olive grabbed her partner's shoulder. "Think about it. None of the villains could have pulled this off..."

Fred continued. "And there's nobody else around who might have done it..."

Velma finished. "And there's only one person who had the means, the skill, the opportunity and the motive..."

Oscar held up his hand. "Hey! I didn't do it! I promise, I'm as confused as you guys!"

Olive sighed. "Not you, Oscar!"

Otto puzzled. "Archon? The old robot? Is he some farmer who wants the land or...?"

Olive shook her head. "Nice guess, but no."

Otto and Shaggy found themselves speaking in unison. "Then WHO?"

Daphne joined in. "Yeah! Who's impersonating Oscar's uncle?"

Velma smiled. "Nobody."

Otto and Shaggy: "Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?"

"This house really is being haunted by Oscar's Uncle Rayenyrk!"

Scooby gulped. "HUUUUUUH?"

Shaggy sobbed. "Oh Velma, I count on you NOT telling me things like that..."

Otto raised an eyebrow. "I thought you said you didn't believe in ghosts."

"I don't. Uncle Rayenyrk's _ghost_ isn't haunting this house. _He_ is."

Oscar was lost. "But... Uncle Rayenyrk's _dead._ Mom took me to his funeral. I mean, yeah, we left before they cut head off and stuffed the garlic in his mouth 'cause I was only six and she didn't think I should see that part... And besides, they have this really great Chinese buffet in that part of town we needed to get to before the prices changed..."

Otto grinned at his partner. "See, I told you garlic stopped vampires! BOOM-garlic-a-lotta!"

Fred picked up the thread of the story. "Oh, Oscar's uncle is dead. But before he died, he rigged this entire property -the house, the grounds, everything- with hologram projectors!"

Otto smiled. "I get it! It's like a sort of burglar alarm!"

Olive took a few steps toward the house. "When people started showing up here, it triggered the projectors and..."

The ghost reappeared. "LEAVE OR BE DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMED!"

She stepped back and it vanished again.

Oscar blinked. "But why would he do that?"

A familiar voice came from the nearby forest. "I can answer that!"

All the agents in unison. "Ms. O?"

Ms. O stepped out from the woods, popping a straw into a fresh juice box.

"I was down the road clearing up some unfinished business with an old villain O'Donahue and I stopped Back In The Day: Odd MacDonald."

The others exchanged looks. "Odd MacDonald?"

"He had a farm. An evil one. Anyway, I noticed all the activity out here and decided to check things out."

Oscar was nervous and twitching. "Ms. O, if it's about my uncle, I can explain why I didn't tell you about him..."

Ms. O half-smiled. "I knew all about him when I hired you."

Oscar: "Huh?"

"You think we don't screen new people? I knew all about your family history."

Oscar blinked. "But... If you knew about my family... Why'd you hire me?"

"You're not your uncle. Or your father. Or anyone else in your family we might have had a problem with. And I believe in giving people a chance. Sometimes they disappoint me, but sometimes they don't."

Oscar smiled awkwardly, blushing.

Olive stepped in. "So you were saying you know why Oscar's uncle had all these devices rigged up."

Otto shrugged. "I just figured he was cranky or something..."

"That too," Ms. O sipped from her juice box. "But he was also trying to protect his weapons."

Fred nodded. "So the stories about the roomful of hidden doomsday weapons are true!"

"You bet they are!" Ms. O stormed toward the house. "And we've got to find them before anyone else does!"

#


	8. Chapter 8

"We have to find the secret laboratory with the cache of doomsday weapons before anyone else does!"

Tossing aside her now-drained juice box, Ms. O stormed toward the old house. The holographic ghost of Rayenyrk floated out of the ground right in front of her.

"LEAVE OR BE DOOOOOOO..."

"NOT NOW!"

Without even breaking stride, Ms. O walked straight through the ghost and up the stairs to the back door. She turned to the Odd Squad agents and the Scooby gang.

"Well? You coming or not?"

They all hurried after her.

#

"Well, yeah, the thing is, I've been all over this house," Oscar was explaining as he unlocked the door. They walked through the entrance into the pantry. "And I haven't been able to find any... MS. O, LOOK OUT!"

Darting forward, he seized Ms. O and yanked her back just as an enormous razor-sharp guillotine blade dropped from the ceiling and embedded itself in the floor where she had just been standing.

"Oh yeah," Oscar adjusted his glasses. "There're some booby traps my Uncle rigged up to make sure noone got in the back way." He noticed Otto. "Don't step on that rug!"

Otto paused just before wiping his feet on the 'Welcome' mat. Stepping back, he took an old soup can from a nearby sack of ancient, forgotten groceries and dropped it on top. The mat fell under its weight, dropping into an underground chamber of vicious, snapping crocodiles.

"Whoah..."

"Oh yeh..." Oscar rubbed the back of his head. "I really oughta feed those guys, it's been awhile..."

Otto edged carefully around the hole in the floor to safety.

Shaggy shuddered at the pirate flag collection hanging along the walls. "Don't you have any _normal _relatives?"

"Well, my Cousin Karen," Oscar responded. "She's been pretty normal ever since she had the extra head removed. We sent it to my Uncle Elias. It's kind of an adjustment for him. But at least he doesn't walk into walls anymore."

Olive facepalmed, took a deep breath, and tried to re-focus on the case.

"Are there any more traps?"

Oscar shook his head. "Not that I know of."

Fred double-taked. "Not that you _know_ of?"

"Well, you know, I haven't really been back here that much. I'm trying to clean the place up 'cause it's been abandoned so long. And I figured I'd better start in the front rooms because, y'know, it's important to make a good first impression. I did have Archon throw out a BUNCH of spoiled food, though. My uncle, he was a BIG eater. He especially liked those little sandwich cookies with the creme in the middle..."

"OSCAR!"

Oscar froze and looked over as Ms. O addressed the rest of the group.

"Everyone just be careful and watch your step. And don't touch anything!"

Scooby shied back from the crumbling pile of cookies he was sniffing. Cringing, he followed the others through the door into the kitchen at the back of the house.

Daphne looked around nervously. "It's safe in here, though, right?"

"Well, yeah," Oscar nodded. "I mean, I haven't found anything..."

An arrow shot across the room, embedding itself in the wooden door just above Oscar's head.

"Well, aside from that. But everything should fine now."

They looked around.

"I'm... not sure I can agree with you there..."

Ordinarily, Otto liked kitchens. This one, however, not so much. The ancient iron stove in the corner, the refrigerator covered with disturbing smears, the evil-smelling sink, the bare lightbulb hanging from a swirling cord above the half-rotted wooden table, the dirty dishes and grease-smeared papers piled up in the corner, and the cabinets hanging crookedly with their doors flapping open and closed in the complete absence of wind made them all intensely uncomfortable.

"Really," Daphne sniffed. "Avocado green tiled floors? That's _so_ retro kitsch..."

"Yeah," Oscar nodded sadly. "My Aunt Wendy didn't like them either. She said it was like standing on an alligator."

"Probably why he had them," Olive noted dryly.

Velma noticed Ms. O was getting impatient and opted to head things off. "So Oscar, you've explored this entire house, you said. Are there any places you've noticed where the lab might be hidden?"

Oscar pondered. "I'm... not sure. There are a _ton _of secret rooms and passageways."

Fred nodded. "Well, let's try to reason it out. You're a scientist. Where in this house would YOU put a lab?"

"Hmmm," Oscar considered. "Well, y'know, that's kinda tricky. Y'see, I'd want a LOT of sunlight so I could see better. But my uncle didn't care for sunlight that much."

Shaggy gulped. "Yeah. The whole vampire thing."

"Well, he used to say that, yeah. And of course good ventilation is key. You don't wanna get light-headed from mixing chemicals. Believe me, I've mixed a _lot _of chemicals..."

Velma caught Shaggy before he said anything. Olive did the same with Otto.

"And... Oh yeah, privacy. That's what he'd want most, privacy. He'd want to have everything hidden away so no one could see what he was doing."

Fred snapped his fingers. "Of course!" Then to Oscar. "Have you checked the basement?"

A dawning realization came over Oscar's face. "Of course! The basement! That's where he'd have his secret lab! In the basement!"

Olive leaned forward. "So have you checked the basement?"

"There is no basement," Oscar shrugged.

Ms. O nodded. "Then that's where it is!"

Everyone stared at her.

She explained: "An old house like this would have to have a basement. And if Oscar hasn't found the basement, that must mean it's hidden."

Fred picked up on her wavelength. "And if it's hidden, it's probably for a good reason!"

Daphne completed the thought. "Like his secret lab!"

Olive looked around. "But how will we get down there?"

Ms. O started kneeling down to punch through the floor. Oscar stopped her.

"Um, no, don't do that. We hafta keep the place's re-sale value."

Shaggy looked around. "THIS place has RE-SALE VALUE?"

Oscar shrugged. "Well, my aunt's gonna want to get as much money out of it as she can. So we can't really go around tearing up the floors."

"But then how are we going to find the lab?"

Velma smiled. "We have someone whose senses are better than ours look for it!" She turned to Scooby.

Scooby looked to his left, to his right, behind him, then swallowed. "RE?" He shook his head vigorously "RUH-UH! RUH-UH!"

Daphne produced a box out of nowhere. "Would you do it for a Scooby-Snack?"

Scooby hesitated, then shook his head.

"Two Scooby Snacks?"

"Hey, I'LL do it for a Scooby Snack!" Otto took the treat out of Daphne's hand. "I always wondered what these tasted like!"

He gulped the Snack down, then sighed in ecstasy. "Oh, man... Soooooooooo good..."

Scooby glared at him. Shaggy patted the dog's head.

"Hey, at least you got out of it, pal!"

Scooby mumbled under his breath. "Rould've done it for ree..."

Dropping down on all fours, Otto sniffed around the baseboards. He made a face.

"Cripes! Didn't he ever CLEAN this place?"

Oscar was about to reply when Otto resumed sniffing. He crawled along several feet, then bumped his head on a pipe sticking up from the floor.

"OW! What's this doing here?"

Olive ran over to her partner. "Look at this! This pipe doesn't go anywhere!"

It was true. The pipe stuck up from the floor, ran along the wall, went up several feet, then stopped an inch or so short of the ceiling.

Velma pondered. "Why would he have a pipe that doesn't go anywhere?"

Fred snapped his fingers again. "It must be a clue!"

Velma sighed. "Yes, Fred. It must be a clue. But what does it mean?"

Otto and Olive examined the pipe more closely, Otto moving a broom that was leaning against the wall. Oscar came over and started examining the pipe too.

"Hmmm..." Picking up the broom, Oscar banged the handle on the ceiling overhead one, twice, three times. A shower of dust rained down on everyone.

"KOFF, KOFF... Oscar!"

Oscar turned and banged the broom handle against the pipe twice.

A hidden panel on the wall slid open, dislodging more dust.

"Whuh... Huh?" Otto stared in surprise.

Daphne gasped. "A secret door!"

Velma took the broom from Oscar and examined it. "It must have been rigged to open when someone hit the ceiling and the pipe the right combination of times!"

Fred gaped at Oscar. "But how did you...?"

Oscar shrugged. "Uncle Rayenyrk was a big Tony Orlando fan."

They decided to let that one go. Plucking off her badge, Olive activated the flashlight and shone it down the long, dark passageway . Unidentifiable things fled back into the shadows.

"I'm not sure I'd trust those stairs..."

Pulling a gadget from behind his back, Otto stepped forward.

"Staircaseinator!"

He fired the gadget down into the dark. A new staircase appeared, far sturdier and safer than the rickety wooden one that had been there before.

Leaning into the passage, Olive swung her flashlight badge up and down the walls. "There doesn't seem to be a light-switch."

"Yeah..." Oscar sucked his teeth. "My uncle liked the dark. He said he found it... soothing."

"He would!" Shaggy whimpered. He and Scooby clung to one another, shivering.

Fred checked the cupboard. "Here's some candles!" He handed them out. "Anyone got any matches?"

"Here," Oscar blew on one of the candles. The wick burst into a cheery, illuminating flame. He handed it to Otto.

Otto gaped. "How did you...?"

"It's another reason I joined." He blew on another candle and the same thing happened. "I was gonna get to it, but we stopped doing those things..."

Eventually, each member of the group had a candle. Ms. O stepped forward.

"Shall we?"

Shaggy and Scooby hung back. "Uh, you guys go ahead! We'll wait here, just in case!"

Velma shrugged. "Suit yourself," she said, half-smiling. "You can keep watch for any odd villains or monsters that might show up!"

Scooby's eyes grew large. "Rodd rillains?"

Shaggy's did too. "M-M-Monsters?"

Ms. O was growing impatient. "Is that enough character schick? Can we go now?"

Huddling together, they descended into the shadows...

TO BE CONTINUED...


	9. Chapter 9

The group descended the zapped-up staircase. Fred, Otto, and Olive were in the lead holding their candles in one hand and their badge-flashlights in the other.

"Okay... The first thing we have to do is find the light-switch..."

Daphne, Velma and Oscar were behind them. The sounds of scurrying and squeaking echoed in the dark cellar below them.

"Ugh!" Daphne made a face. "There must be rats down there!"

Shaggy, Scooby and Ms. O brought up the rear.

"Rats or..." Scooby shuddered. "_Ronsters!"_

Shaggy laughed nervously. "C'mon, Scoob! You know they're gonna say there's no... GULP!... monsters!"

Otto looked back at them. "Nah. This place, it's probably monsters."

Shaggy started blubbering. "Why did he have to say that?"

"Hey," Oscar interjected. "It might not be monsters!"

Shaggy and Scooby heaved sighs of relief.

"I mean, it could be. But it also could be some of those Komodo Dragons we have running around. Or maybe crocodiles, if my uncle kept some spares. Hey, it might even be pterodactyls, though I'm not really sure how they'd get down here. Heck, maybe all of 'em, I dunno, I... Guys?"

Shaggy and Scooby had bolted back up the stairs. Ms. O blocked their escape. She glared at them and they reluctantly headed back down.

"Man, it's dark down here..." Dodging a small flying thing that had just buzzed his head, Otto pointed his flashlight into the shadows. A weird, distorted face screeched at him and vanished back into the gloom. "Oboy..."

Unclipping his own badge, Oscar turned on his flashlight and shone it down the wall until he came to a switch. "Here, this must turn on the lights..."

He threw the switch. It did not turn on the lights. Instead, they all heard the creaking and whirring of ancient, rusting motors coming alive and of a cage door slowly being raised.

"Oops! That wasn't it, heh-heh... "

There was a bellowing roar that echoed against the stone walls and the sound of something huge shifting about in the dark.

Otto shook his head. "Yeah, definitely not it."

"Wait a minute!" Fred shouted. "I think I found the light-switch!"

"_Now _he finds the light switch?" Shaggy sobbed. Scooby joined him in whimpering.

"Get ready, guys! I'm gonna hit the switch!"

Fred hit the switch. The lights came on.

Instantly, dozens of weird, unidentifiable creatures scattered, hissing their displeasure at the sudden brightness. Only one thing remained: the huge, shambling, sharp-toothed beast that glared at them through reumy eyes as it slithered out from its now-open cage.

"That thing!" Fred shouted in horror. "That slithering blob coming toward us!"

It advanced slowly, snapping its parrot-like beak.

Velma cringed back. "What is it?"

Oscar brightened. "It's Melvin!"

They all stared at him as he pushed his way through them and ran over to the monster. _"MELVIN?"_

_"_Yeah!" He petted the monster's scaly jowls. It purred in response. "I remember this guy from when I was a kid! Wow, you've grown, Melvin! Almost didn't recognize you!" He then explained to the others, "He's another one of my uncle's experiments!"

Olive face-palmed. "Of course he is."

Shaggy sobbed. "Why couldn't he just collect stamps or watch baseball like any other uncle?"

Oscar shrugged. "He liked this stuff better. He did follow baseball, though."

Velma sighed, resigned. "You're gonna tell us his favorite team, aren't you?"

"He liked the Giants."

"Yeah," Velma looked at Melvin. "Obviously."

Oscar shrugged again, then led the monster away. "C'mon Melvin, let's put you back in your cage..."

The others stood on the steps trying to regroup.

"Okay," Ms. O slurped her juice-box. "Let's focus. Everyone look for something that might be a lab."

Otto pointed to a figure in the shadows. "That looks kinda like a cocker spaniel..."

"A _laboratory,_" Ms. O clarified through clenched teeth.

They all looked in different directions.

"It's no good," Velma finally admitted. "We're just gonna hafta go down there."

"Let's split up!" Fred said brightly. "Shaggy, you go with Olive and Scooby, while I..."

Oscar's voice interrupted from the depths of Melvin's cage. "Uh, guys...? You may wanna,come here..."

They all exchanged looks, then descended to the concrete floor. Stepping carefully through the maze of unidentifiable droppings and effusa, the group made their way across the dank, foul-smelling room.

Melvin lay slumbering in a corner on a pile of straw.

"Guys?"

Oscar was at the far wall at the very back of the cage standing before an elaborately carved and painted mural.

"I think I found something..."

#

The team stood around Oscar examining the bizarre and incredible mural hidden inexplicably in the back of a monster's cage.

"Man," Shaggy shook his head. "Dig that crazy cave painting!"

"It reminds me a bit of the fraudulent Ica stones of South America," Velma mused.

"My uncle went to South America all the time!" Oscar exclaimed. "He said he had friends living in Argentina..."

"But what's it doing down here?" Olive asked.

"What's ANY of this stuff doing ANYWHERE?" Otto exclaimed. "I mean, I'm sorry, Oscar, but your uncle was kind of a hoarder."

"Yeah," Oscar sucked his teeth. "He did like his tchotchkes..."

"It's all so bizarre," Daphne ran her hand along a carving. There was a sudden, loud screeching noise.

"INTRUDER!" A robotic voice intoned. "INTRUDER!"

Melvin, sensing danger, scampered out of the cage just before the steel bars dropped back down.

Then the walls started to close in on them.

#


	10. Chapter 10

"The walls! They're moving!"

The concrete walls on either side of the chamber slid toward one another at a disturbing pace. The steel gate that had dropped from the ceiling behind them barred their escape. But Otto had to rattle it just to make sure.

"We're going to be crushed!"

"RUSHED?" Scooby sobbed.

"Not if I can help it!"

Tossing her juice box aside, Ms. O stormed over to one of the walls. Bracing herself against the concrete, she shoved with all her considerable might, her sneakered feet slipping and sliding in the muck. The wall was halted, momentarily.

"Great work, Ms. O! I'll get the other one!"

Fred dashed over and slammed himself against the opposite wall. It continued moving despite his best efforts.

"What the... This thing's HEAVY! How is she...?"

Velma smiled. "Don't try to figure it out, Fred. It'll just confuse you."

She, Daphne, Shaggy and Scooby joined Fred in his efforts to slow down the wall.

Otto, Olive, and Oscar, meanwhile, were focused on the mural.

"It has to mean something!" Olive insisted. "But what?"

"Can't we figure that out later?" Otto wailed. "We're gonna get squished any second!"

"Hmm," Oscar pondered. "All this started when Daphne touched this thing..."

He ran his hand along the carvings. There was another loud beep and the walls retracted again, spilling Ms. O and the Scooby Gang to the floor.

Oscar smiled proudly and a bit nervously at his friends just before a strange purple light shot out of a sculpted gargoyle's eyes, scanning him from head to toe.

"IDENTITY CONFIRMED," The grating computer voice said. "WELCOME, OSCAR."

There was a hiss like a vacuum seal being broken. Then the mural covered wall slid to one side to reveal another secret room.

The team looked inside. Another musty chandelier hung from the ceiling above a bizarre mixture of Midevial trappings, futuristic technology, and Victoriana. There was a rotting wooden table covered with beakers and tubes in one corner, a dust-covered television screen in the other. Way in the back, a sarcophagus rested propped against a wall alongside a night-stand, a bookcase, and a standing lamp. Diagrams festooned the walls.

"MY UNCLE'S SECRET LAB!"

But what caught everyone's attention was the glass display case filled with strange high-tech devices nestled in a quiet nook over to the side.

"And those must be the doomsday weapons!" Daphne exclaimed.

Ms. O nodded. "We'd better gather them up before..."

Before anyone could react, two mimes leapt from the shadows. One grabbed Oscar, pointing his finger at Oscar's head and sticking his thumb in the air.

"Whu... _Again? _This happens in all this guy's stories!"

The other mime pantomimed pulling a machine gun from behind his back. He trained it at the team, pointed at the display case, then at himself.

"They want the doomsday weapons!"

"We can't let them have them! Who knows what havoc they'd cause!"

"But what can we do? They've got Oscar!"

The Scooby Gang, meanwhile, was thoroughly confused.

"Um, guys?" Fred said gently. "You know they're just pretending to have guns, right?"

The agents ignored him.

"How'd they get down here, anyway?"

"We left the door open," Olive looked up the staircase and shook her head. "We thought all the villains had left. We should have been more careful."

"Guys..." Velma tried again. "They _don't really have guns!"_

The agents ignored her too. Ms. O stepped forward.. "You let Oscar go, you... you mimes!"

The mime shook his head. He pointed to Oscar, then to the display case again.

"They want to trade Oscar for the weapons!"

"You can't!" shouted Oscar, struggling in the mime's grip. "It's too dangerous! Forget about me!" He struck a pose. "I regret that I have only one life to give to protect the world from oddness!"

Daphne was just staring. _"What is_ going _on_?"

Just then, Oscar's uncle's old robot appeared at the top of the stairs.

"ARCHON?"

The robot teetered unsteadily a moment, then came crashing down, rolling nearly out of control on its metal wheels, tendrils flapping, antenna revolving, beeping furiously.

The mimes were understandably startled. Taking advantage of the distraction, Oscar squirmed free as the robot trundled toward them.

The mimes pulled faces of exaggerated horror as they opened fire on the advancing robot. The pretend-bullets from their pretend-guns ricocheted harmlessly off its metal body. Its tendrils wrapped around the two mimes, lifting them off the ground as they struggled helplessly in its grip. It then carried them off.

"ARCHON! ARCHON, WAIT!" Oscar ran after them. "Not the crocodile pit. Take them upstairs and lock them in one of the spare cells until we can get Owen here to pick them up."

Fred blinked. "You have spare cells?"

"My uncle... It's kinda complicated... " Oscar turned to shout after Archon. "And keep an eye on them so they don't escape!"

"Yeah!" Shaggy giggled. "You don't want 'em unlocking the door with a pretend key!"

Olive nodded. "Oh, so you have dealt with them before."

"Reah... Huh?"

Otto interrupted the confused silence. "But what was Archon even doing here? Nobody called him!"

Velma nodded. "I'll bet he was programmed to protect Oscar from danger!"

"Programmed?" Fred looked around. "By who? Oscar's uncle?"

Shaggy laughed nervously. "Like, I thought that old kook hated everyone!"

Ms. O called their attention to a secluded corner of the room. There in a secluded little nook hung a dozen or so framed photos of Oscar in his younger days: Baby pictures, school photos, Oscar in his first Odd Squad uniform, etc.

"Not quite everyone, it seems..."

The others gathered around. An embarrassed Oscar quickly pulled down a toddler bath photo and hid it under his labcoat..

"Wow!" exclaimed Otto. "I guess he had a soft spot for you, Oscar."

"Well, I did try to phone him every week," Oscar shrugged. "It was a little tough the times he was missing and presumed dead, but I did my best..."

As Oscar stepped toward the wall, another light beam shot out, this one from an electric eye just above the photos, and scanned him head to toe again.

"Identity confirmed," the computer voice intoned. "Activating recording..."

Suddenly, the screen on the wall lit up, startling the assembled group with a bright flash and a burst of static. Then the cadaverous face of Rayenyrk appeared on the screen.

"Greetings," the Vampire King spoke to the camera in a guttural hiss. "If you are hearing this, I have presumably passed from this corporeal existence and crossed over to the other side..."

Otto frowned. "Huh?"

Olive explained. "He means he's dead."

"Let's just hope it doesn't mean he really is a ghost now!" howled Shaggy.

The taped image continued. "If all goes according to plan, the one hearing this will be my young nephew Oscar." They all turned to look at Oscar, who smiled awkwardly and adjusted his glasses. "And if you are not Oscar, you will not leave this house alive. I have seen to that."

"Yeah!" Shaggy whimper-laughed. "We noticed!" Velma shushed him.

"As you should be aware, I am the Vampire King and I have cultivated a reputation for malice and malevolence to terrify the common rabble. It is an image I revel in, for society is often cruel to those who refuse to conform to its petty strictures."

"Yeah," Oscar sighed. "Tell me about it."

"It is for this reason I have separated myself from mortal man and waged a ceaseless battle to conquer this repellent, backwards society so that I might exterminate it and replace it with something more to my liking." He growled under his breath, unnerving even on tape. "If you are hearing this, it means I did not succeed."

"And thank goodness for that," Daphne said under her breath.

Rayenyrk hissed quietly. "Ridiculous Inuit and her stupid bear..." He shook his head. "Still, that is beside the point. From my seclusion, I have watched over you, nephew Oscar. When you were born, I saw the fires of genius burning within you and I vowed no one would harm you. I made a solemn vow to myself you would be happy and protected."

They all looked at one another. Olive spoke first. "He's... not going to ask Oscar to take over for him, is he?"

Oscar shook his head. "Nah, nah. I mean, we discussed it a couple times but..."

The Vampire King continued. "I will not ask you to follow in my footsteps. I know you have made your own path in this world with this... Odd Squad." He grimaced. "It has brought you happiness and that is all I care about. You do not wish to join my cause."

Fred gasped. "He's not going to kill Oscar for betraying him, is he?"

Oscar shook his head. "Nah, he'd never do that! I mean, I'm pretty sure he'd never do that. I mean..."

"He won't," Ms. O said flatly.

"And so, I shall join your cause."

He spoke a word, unintelligible and unpronounceable by any but the most practiced tongue. In response, the case containing the doomsday weapons popped open.

Otto saw this. "Uh, guys...?"

"Take these devices I have created.," Rayenyrk continued. "Use them on behalf of your Odd Squad. Tell no one what I have done here, for my fearsome reputation must remain intact." He struggled to contort his skeletal visage into a smile. "This is my legacy, your inheritance. Use it as you will. And... And please try to think kindly of your old Uncle Rayenyrk the Vampire King."

The screen dissolved into static, then switched off.

"Uh, okay..." Olive struggled to get her bearings. "That was... unexpected..."

Fred eyed the glass case suspiciously. "How do we know it's not a trap?"

Velma sighed. "We just do, all right?" She considered a moment. "It might be a good idea to let Oscar take the weapons out of the case, though. He doesn't seem to have wanted anyone else touching them."

Oscar just stood, staring at the screen and smiling. Ms. O nudged him and he started. "Huh? Oh, oh yeah. Of course. Hold on."

He hurried over and started unloading the weapons.

Daphne watched, puzzled. "What's Odd Squad going to do with a bunch of doomsday weapons?"

"We'll keep them safe," Ms. O replied. "Locked up so no one can misuse them. And we can study them and maybe..."

"Whoops!" Oscar fumbled and dropped a device. It fell on the floor and, to everyone's horror, discharged right at Shaggy and Scooby.

"Oh no!"

Everyone froze, expecting the worst. But after a couple of seconds, a shower of chocolate chip cookies rained down upon the gluttonous pair.

"WHAT in the...?"

"A cookieinator?"

The two started catching and gobbling down the cookies.

"Man! Like, this is my kind of doomsday weapon!"

The Odd Squad agents started examining the devices.

"Why... These aren't weapons!" Ms. O exclaimed. "Most of them are benign. Even helpful!"

Fred laughed. "He didn't make doomsday weapons! He knew Oscar wouldn't want them so he made nice inventions instead!"

Otto patted Oscar on the back. "Looks like Oscar's Uncle had some good in him after all!"

Velma smiled. "Well, it seems this case is all wrapped up!"

"Well, I guess... But..." Daphne looked at Melvin and the other malformed beasts skulking about.. "What's going to happen to all these creatures?"

"Odd Squad will take charge of them," Ms. O assured her. " The Komodo Dragons and the pterosaurs too. We'll give them a good home."

"That still leaves the problem of this house," Fred grimaced. "I'm sorry, Oscar, but no amount of cleaning could make this place presentable."

Olive nodded. "I'm afraid he's right. So what are we gonna do?"

Otto grinned. "I have an idea..."

#

It was now Autumn. The trees lining Peachtree Road were still dark, bare, but slightly less foreboding with glittery red garlands hanging in their branches. There was a huge, hand-painted sign by the side of the road: 'THE VAMPIRE KING'S HAUNTED MANSION.'

"Looks like Oscar's doing pretty well for himself," Velma smiled. "Look at all the cars!"

The Mystery Machine pulled into the parking area which had been marked off around the old house. The front lawn was crowded with people milling about and street vendors had set up around the edge of the property.

After they parked and got out of the van, they heard a familiar voice.

"Hey, guys!"

Oscar came hurrying over, accompanied by a dark-haired girl also in a bow-tie and labcoat.

"This is my new lab assistant, Oona! Oona, the Scooby-Doo Detective Agency!"

Oona's eyes widened. "Do you know Sailor Moon?"

Daphne shook her hand. "We heard about Olive and Otto getting promoted. Congratulations to them both!"

"Yeah! Well, they earned it!" Oscar scratched the back of his neck. "We really miss 'em around HQ but we've also got a bunch of new guys..."

Fred looked around. "Looks like business is booming!"

"Sure is!" Oscar grinned. "At first, y'know, it was mostly just villains still looking for doomsday weapons, but then the holiday season came along... Aunt Wendy's even had a few offers from potential buyers. There's a curio museum who want the place, and a heavy metal rock star..." He glanced around. Hey, didn't Shaggy and Scooby come?"

Velma laughed. "Those two chowhounds went off to the concession stands! They won't be back until they run out of money or they give themselves stomach-aches, whichever comes first!"

Nearby, Shag and Scoob were settling at a picnic table with their food.

"Man oh man, authentic Canadian cuisine!" He sniffed the smells coming from the styrofoam container he was opening. "Boy oh boy, this poutine looks like it'll be anything but routine!"

"Reah!" Scooby wolfed down his own order of poutine, then stared hungrily at Shaggy's food.

"Forget it, Scoob!" Shaggy unwrapped his plastic spork. "This is all mine! You already had yours... Huh?"

Feeling a tap on his shoulder, Shaggy turned to see who it was. He was just quick enough to see Scooby's tail slip away, but not fast enough to turn back before Scoob had gulped down the entire plate of poutine.

He glared at the dog. "Man's best friend! Phooey!"

Scooby giggled. "Scooby Dooby Dooooooo!"

end


End file.
